Shopping Sustainably: 5 Important Questions to Ask Before Buying That Product
Fast fashion. Fast food. Faster online shopping.
This is the current reality we live in. Getting our food within 60 seconds, our online orders within 24 hours, and thousands of TV shows and movies at the click of a button.
But how much longer will these convenient habits be sustainable? And what are they costing us and the earth at this very moment? Read on…
What Does It Mean to Purchase Sustainably?
Sustainable purchasing is buying your goods and services with the environment in mind. It prioritizes a circular economy—AKA, an economy where everything is either reduced, reused, recycled, refilled, repurposed, or composted.
Sustainable purchasing aims to reduce the following:
Greenhouse gas emissions from manufacturing, transporting, and using said product.
Plastic and other unnecessary waste.
The release or exposure to toxic chemicals.
The unfair treatment of labor workers.
Energy consumption, by leveraging renewable energy sources.
5 Things to Look for When Purchasing Anything
Don’t be fooled by all the green wannabes out there. There are five things to look for when purchasing your favorite products sustainably…
1. Does the Company’s Website Have a Page Dedicated to Sustainability?
Here’s the deal, a lot of companies claim to be “sustainable” or “eco-friendly” or even “compostable” when they aren’t.
It’s pretty easy to tell if a company is truly green if they have an entire page on their website that’s dedicated to sharing the steps they’re taking to be so.
Here are a few companies that have a website page like this: Leaf Shave. Athletic Greens. Blueland. Crap Eyewear. Alter Eco.
2. Is the Company Climate Neutral Certified?
To see if the company you’re buying from is certified climate neutral, simply go to the website, Climate Neutral. From there, click “Brand Search” in the header menu, and then click either “Certified Brands” or “Committed Brands”. You can search for the brand from there.
If a brand is climate neutral, it will have a climate label like the one below.
Image Courtesy of Climate Neutral
What Is Climate Neutral?
When a company is climate neutral, it means that it offsets its entire carbon footprint. The company does this by counting the greenhouse gas emissions that it creates when making a product or service. Then it offsets that footprint by doing things like investing in forest conservation projects in the Amazon or water filtration projects in India. Lastly, the company cuts its emissions by identifying and reporting on specific actions and future targets. For example, brands with over $100M in annual revenue should aim to reduce emissions by 50% by 2030.
3. Does the Company Use 100% Recycled Materials?
Did you know that companies can create products out of things like plastic milk jugs, discarded fabric, and even the trash that’s floating in the ocean?
That’s the power of recycling (although only 9% of plastic is actually recycled each year) (1)...
To ensure you’re not contributing to unnecessary waste, look for companies that have the logo “100% Recycled Materials”. A few companies that sell only 100% recycled products are Allbirds, Cotopaxi, and Green Toys.
4. Is the Product Actually Compostable?
Another important feature to look for when buying a product: Is it compostable?
When a product is compostable, it means that it’s able to break down into natural elements in a timely manner (usually 90 days)—rather than sitting in a landfill for 500 years like most plastics (1).
Here are a few companies that sell compostable products:
Pela: The first company to create compostable phone cases, Airpod cases, smartwatch bands, and more.
Matter: This company sells tableware, food storage bags, and trash bags that compost in 12 months.
Package Free: This sustainable company sells 100% compostable products like loofahs, deodorant, vegetable brushes, and more.
But beware…Numerous companies claim to be compostable when it’s actually just the packaging that your product comes in that’s compostable. So be sure to triple-check (and read reviews) to ensure that it is, in fact, certified compostable.
5. Are the Company’s Workers Properly Compensated?
When a company puts profit before people, forced labor and unethical working conditions are at play.
Over the years, the world’s most popular companies have gone under fire for this: Adidas, Nike, Calvin Klein, Patagonia, H&M. And this 2020 report reveals the goods and products made with forced labor by roughly 1.8 million people in Xinjiang, China.
Instead of buying tainted goods made by humans that are enslaved, imprisoned, and tortured, purchase from a company that puts people before profit. This website—Good On You—gives a sustainability rating to fashion brands based on their impact on the environment, their workers, and animals. Simply look up your favorite brands to see if they meet the mark.
Companies That Check All 5 Boxes
To give you an idea of what companies are ethical, sustainable, and/or certified climate-neutral, here’s a list…
Alter Eco: A climate-neutral, fair-wage chocolate company.
Athletic Greens: A climate-neutral, fair-wage company that sells a green superfood powder.
Blueland: A climate-neutral, certified B-Corp that sells reusable cleaning products.
Outland Denim: An organic, sustainable Australian-based denim brand.
Flamingos Life: A Spanish, plant-based sneaker brand.
The Common Good Company: An Australian-based apparel company made from 100% recycled materials.
Leaf Shave: A climate-neutral, plastic-free razor company.
Pela: A climate-neutral company that sells compostable phone cases, tablet cases, Airpod cases, and smartwatch bands ethically made in Canada.
There are hundreds more…just go to ClimateNeutral.com to see if your favorite brands are climate-neutral certified and Good On You to make sure their workers are paid a living wage. If they aren’t, shoot them an email expressing your concerns.
If you’re unsure whether a brand checks all the necessary boxes, you can Google the following queries:
“are [insert brand] products climate neutral”
“are [insert brand] products made from 100% recycled materials”
“are [insert brand] products compostable”
“are [insert brand] products made by people with a living wage”
The Bottom Line
Purchasing green may take a bit more time and research, but the payoff is worth it—for you, the planet, and the people who make your products.
Vote with your dollars by choosing from fair-wage, climate-neutral companies that offer products that are zero-waste, compostable, or made with 100% recycled materials. These are impactful changes that result in a less wasteful world—and humans who are treated right.